Tuan Anh together with the huge collection of model cars
Tuan Anh said, “Right in my childhood, when my parents put toys on the tray at the birthday party of a year-old baby to predict what my future career would be, the item I chose was a model car. It was like the predestination for me to choose and crave for the model car collection.”
There are a good many types of model cars such as motorcycles, boats, airplanes, etc, and Tuan Anh chooses to have an attachment to cars. This type of model car is made with high precision against real car models.
Despite many different ratios, the most popular ones are 1/64, 1/43, 1/18, 1/12 and divided into three segments: high-end, mid-end and popular. The larger the size is, the greater the meticulousness, accuracy and perfection are.
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Tuan Anh said, “There are a great many manufacturers of model cars worldwide, and model cars are divided into different segments according to the cost and meticulousness in each product. In the popular segment, there are the manufacturers like Welly, Burago.... These manufacturers have diverse products, but the product quality is average, suitable for beginners. The mid-end segment has Kyosho, Autoart...; the high-end has BBR, MR... with more meticulous production mode. High-end manufacturers will prioritize more detailed and manual production compared with popular ones.”
The model cars are characterized by exquisite designs, about 70% like real cars. Normally, the car tires are mainly made of metal or plastic. Model cars are divided into 2 types: dynamic and static.
Dynamic model cars allow players to interact with the car the most, assemble and disassemble as many details as possible. In contrast, the static model car cannot be disassembled, only for display purposes.
The hobby of collecting static model cars requires sophistication and patience. To maintain these cars, players need to wear gloves when holding the car to prevent sweat from affecting the car's paint. The small details on a car should be given attention because if broken or lost, it will be very difficult to replace them. Moreover, the climate is also a factor that makes a model car susceptible to peeled paint, melted tires, and cracked glass, requiring players to have a lot of experience, maintain a car meticulously and carefully.
The two rare and most sought-after "supercars" worldwide
“For me, each model car has the memory of its own. And out of nearly 1,000 pieces, I almost always remember all the memories of when and why I own them. Once I visited Vinh Moc Tunnel (Quang Tri) and brought a 1/18 scale Lamborghini Mucielago SV, and I brought it with me down to the tunnel. When almost out of the tunnel, I discovered that one side of the mirror was broken and lost in the tunnel. So my father and I went back, walking and looking in the dark for the rearview mirror of this car with the size of half a little finger," recalled Tuan Anh.
Depending on the manufacturer, car ratio and rarity, the model cars have different prices. The 1/64 scale car costs from a few ten thousand dong to several million dong. The 1/43 scale one comes in at from several hundred thousand dong to several million. The 1/18 scale one commands from a few million to several ten million, even up to several hundred million dong.
Tuan Anh is lucky to own a rare and sought-after 1/64 supercar in the world, Lamborghini Mucielago SV and Koenigsegg Agera R by Hotwheels. The 1/18 scale car, Autoart's Pagani Huayra, is the 3rd in Vietnam, at the price of up to 7 million dong. This is also the most expensive one in his model car collection.
Even though it costs time, money and effort, owning satisfactory products is the happiest for model car players. For the many, model cars are like a children's game. For Tuan Anh, this is not only a joy and passion but also a motivation to relieve stress after stressful and tiring working hours.
Story: Bach Chau. Photos provided by the character in the story